Lee Iacocca to Be Honored at A Day of Hope, March 13

Commitment, planning and
common sense are the
basic characteristics of the
man who created the Ford
Mustang, saved the Chrysler
Corporation from almost certain
demise, and who, on invitation
from President Ronald Reagan,
spearheaded the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and
Ellis Island.

Those three traits, however, have also served to help Lee
Iaccoca realize one of the most ardent and impassioned
goals of his life—a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

In 1984, following the death of his
wife Mary as the result of diabetes
complications, Iacocca founded
The Iacocca Foundation, which has
emerged as one of the country’s
premiere funders of diabetes
research.

For nearly 20 years, The Iacocca
Foundation has sought out
researchers and provided funding
for innovative and promising
research. “Typically, discovery work
is the most difficult research to
secure funding,” says Dana Ball,
Foundation Operations Manager.
“But it is exactly this type of work
which The Iacocca Foundation has
funded over the past 20 years.”

Today, at 79 years of age, Iacocca—who
lives in Bel Air, California, and
in Palm Desert, California—still
takes an active role in The Iacocca
Foundation, which is headed by his
daughter, Kathryn Iacocca Hentz.
He also sits on the board of Feed
the World and is heavily involved
with the Ellis Island project and
Reading Is Fundamental. He is also
a very active and involved
grandfather of seven. According to
Ball, “He’s no different now than
when he was head of Chrysler. He
works every day, dividing his time
between several different interests
both in the business world and
philanthropy.”

With the announcement of a
potential cure for Type 1 diabetes,
Mr. Iacocca said, “I have been
hoping to live long enough to see a
cure [for diabetes]. Yet, I’ve said
that for 20 years. Now, with
enough help, I think I just might.”